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© Samiskt Informationscentrum |
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| Sápmi's history |   |
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In the Middle Ages, the Sami were drawn into the Nordic and Russian spheres of interest. At this time, having contact with the Sami was very lucrative for traders and tax collectors. They were mainly after the furs of squirrels, ermine (shown in the photograph) and other animals. There was great demand for furs in Europe, as they were the height of fashion among the distinguished people in court. The Birkarl empire At this time, Birkarls were entitled to trade with and collect taxes from the Sami, in return for a small fee to the Swedish Crown. The Birkarls were chieftains who lived along the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. Their area extended from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Arctic coast. They had divided up the Sami's land amongst themselves into regions known as Lappmarks: Pite, Lule, Torne and Kemi Lappmarks. They demanded furs and reindeer skin products from the Sami. In return they provided the Sami with goods such as flour, salt, metal goods, frieze and broadcloth. The tax collection activities often made the Birkarls very wealthy, as the fee they had to pay to the Swedish Crown was so small. State tax collection When Gustav Vasa came to power and learned about the fortune that the Birkarls were making from taxing the Sami, he tightened up the rules. In 1528 he doubled the fee they paid to the Crown. After this, all Birkarls jointly had to pay eight martin skins and 32 timbers of squirrel skins (2,280 skins). Despite this, the Birkarls continued to make large fortunes from taxing the Sami. In the middle of the 16th century, however, their right to collect tax was removed. The state wanted to gain control over the tax income from the Sami. From that point on, tax collection would instead take place directly under the auspices of the king. Lapp sheriffs were employed to take care of tax collection. In practice, however, the new sheriffs were recruited from among the ranks of the Birkarls, as they had most knowledge of the land and the people. All adult Sami men were entered in the census register of Lapp villages. A fishing water register was also drawn up, listing which fishing lakes were in the Lapp village and who fished in these lakes. The idea was that from then on the Sami would pay an annual tax for fishing as well. Tax to several countries In the Middle Ages, three countries were competing for power in the north: Sweden/Finland, Denmark/Norway and Russia. This region was home to the fish-rich Arctic Ocean as well as the desirable trading routes to Archangel, which could provide a good income to whoever controlled the area. The countries were of the opinion that tax collection gave sovereignty over the area. Each country was interested in claiming its entitlement to the area and its entitlement to collect tax from the Sami who lived there. This resulted in Sami in some regions being forced to pay tax to two or three countries at the same time. It was not until 1751 that Sweden/Finland and Denmark/Norway ceased collecting tax from the same Sami. Russia and Denmark/Norway continued to demand tax from the same Sami up until 1809. Senast ändrad: 2006-11-06 |
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